KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 6 — Differences in political support should not lead to a punitive or condescending attitude towards others, let alone linking salvation in the hereafter to membership of or support for any political organisation.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Dr Zulkifli Hasan said the determination of heaven and hell is the absolute right of Allah SWT and cannot be guaranteed by any individual, leader or political organisation.

He said support for any political organisation was not a measure of attaining the pleasure of Allah SWT, as faith, piety and righteous deeds based on the Quran and Sunnah served as the primary foundations.

“The attitude of claiming one’s group is definitively pure while others are excluded from the mercy of Allah SWT is a form of self-praise and ghuluw (extremism), which is strictly prohibited in Islam,” he said in a Facebook post.

Zulkifli said political parties were merely wasilah or intermediaries in human endeavours that were not exempt from weaknesses and ijtihad (independent reasoning), and could not be equated with religion or used as an absolute measure of a person’s standing before Allah SWT.

In this regard, he urged all parties to mature their political culture by making justice, the well-being of the ummah (Muslim community) and good character the core principles, rather than exploiting religious sentiments for political gain.

“Engage in mature and ethical politics based on justice and the well-being of the ummah, without compromising the values of faith and ukhuwah Islamiah (Islamic brotherhood),” he said, while asking society to distinguish between religion as a guide to life and political parties as platforms for human endeavour.

The statement was made in response to media reports yesterday quoting PAS secretary-general Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan as saying that supporting PAS and its Islamic-based struggles could be a path to heaven.

Takiyuddin was reported as saying that those who joined PAS and fought for Islam had the opportunity to earn the reward of heaven, in addition to describing those who died defending Islam as martyrs. — Bernama